Portland homeowners fed up with squatters in their neighborhood

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PORTLAND, Ore. - Darrel Adams likes to keep an eye on his new neighbors.

He used to have a great relationship with the woman who lived next door, but she passed away.

The Southeast Portland house sat empty for a few months until he said squatters showed up in April and made themselves right at home.

"They put up a sign that says no trespassing, this means the Portland Police," Adams said.

Since then he says there's cars constantly coming and going, never staying for more than a few minutes.

"Oh yeah they are dealing drugs, there's no doubt about it. I find it hard to go to sleep at night because I don't know what's going to happen," Adams said.

He's not the only one on the block complaining.

His other neighbors, including Bill Robinson, came over during our interview and started telling us about their problems.

Robinson even spotted the squatters using his front yard as their own personal bathroom.

"Right back here they had a toilet set up. It's ugly," Robinson said.

They've called police more times then they can remember. Police tell them it's up to the new owners to evict, but the new owners are the Department of Housing and Urban Development and a private company based in Texas. Adams has called them but says they keep giving him the runaround.

Now Adams and Robinson are fed up and want something done so they can have their peace of mind back.

KATU called HUD and the private company to get some answers. We have not heard back. We also knocked on the door at the home, but no one answered.